Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a transcontinental country situated at the junction of Eastern Europe and West Asia. With a population of almost 10 million, Azerbaijan is in the Caucasus and is bordered from the east by the Caspian Sea, from the north by Russia, from the northwest by Georgia, from the west by Armenia and Turkey, and from the southern by Iran. Geographic location of Azerbaijan has greatly influenced its historical development and present relevance in world events.

Reflecting a special mix of historical legacy and modern ambitions, Baku, the capital city, serves as the political, economic, and cultural center of the nation. Particularly in energy generation and international trade, Baku, on the Absheron Peninsula reaching into the Caspian Sea, has been central for Azerbaijan’s growth.

The history of Azerbaijan is marked by a sophisticated interaction of several political and cultural influences. Over the millennia, the area that now is modern Azerbaijan has seen many civilizations and empires. Early state formation in the area was laid by the ancient kingdom of Caucasian Albania, different from the Balkan nation of Albania. Later, several Persian empires—including the Achaemenids, Parthians, and Sassanids—had a major influence on the area, so affecting its customs and culture.

Azerbaijan’s history underwent a pivotal turning point in the 19th century marked by its participation in geopolitical policies of empire expansion. Caucasian territory from the Qajar Empire of Persia was ceded to the Russian Empire during the Russo-Persian Wars, which ran from 1804–1813 and 1826–1828. The territorial transfer was established by the Treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828), so defining a new border between Russia and Persia across the Aras River. By separating the northern portion, under Russian control, from the southern area, which stayed part of Persia (present-day Iran), the partition profoundly affected the Azerbaijani population.

Under Russian imperial control, Azerbaijan experienced significant social and economic transformation. Oil was discovered late in the 19th century, mostly in Baku, which greatly raised the industrial level of the area. A new class of Azerbaijani industrialists and intellectuals emerged during this time, articulating a unique national identity and laying the groundwork for future independence dreams.

Azerbaijani nationalists found a brief chance when the Russian Empire fell apart in 1917. Establishing itself as the first secular democratic state in the Muslim world, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was born in 1918. But this young republic was transient. After seizing Azerbaijan in 1920, Bolshevik forces included it into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.

In Azerbaijan’s social, economic, and cultural spheres the Soviet era brought notable changes. Accelerated industrialization and modernization—especially in the oil industry—along with political repression and the erasure of Azerbaijani national identity defined the period. Notwithstanding the restrictions placed by the communist framework, notable advancement in education, infrastructure development, and cultural production took place during the Soviet era.

With the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, Azerbaijan was positioned at the epicenter of ethnic strife and territory disputes. Following Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s 1991 declarations of independence, the ethnic Armenian enclave known as Nagorno-Karabakh descended into a full-scale war. A major feature of Azerbaijan’s post-Soviet experience, this conflict has shaped both its foreign policy and home politics.

Formally announced on August 30, 1991, the modern Republic of Azerbaijan was founded after the fall apart of the Soviet Union. Political unrest, financial hardships, and ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh defined the first years of freedom. Under the direction of Heydar Aliyev, who came to power in 1993, then his son Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has undertaken geopolitical balancing and economic development.

Azerbaijan’s strategy after independence has been much shaped by its large reserves of oil and gas. A major change in Azerbaijan’s economic path came with the 1994 signing of the “Contract of the Century,” which encouraged foreign investment in Caspian oil fields of the country. Completing the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in 2005 confirmed Azerbaijan’s status as a major energy exporter, so enabling the direct export of Caspian oil to Western markets and so avoiding Russia and Iran.

Exports of energy have helped to boost the economy; but, they have also presented difficulties with regard to fair development and economic diversity. To encourage sustainable long-term economic development, the government has given non-oil industries including information technology, tourism, and agriculture top priority development.

In the international scene, Azerbaijan has embraced a multi-vector foreign policy that successfully balances its ties to both regional powers and world players. Along with maintaining important ties with Russia, the European Union, and the United States, it has grown close to Turkey, its ethnic and language equivalent. Participating in several international organizations including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the Non-Aligning Movement, Azerbaijan shows its dedication to world unity while preserving its sovereignty and national priorities.

Until recently, the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict kept a significant obstacle for Azerbaijan that kept challenging her. The 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War changed the regional status quo by Azerbaijan reasserting control over a good amount of the disputed land. While also posing fresh difficulties with regard to post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation, this military success has strengthened nationalist feeling in Azerbaijan.